Appraisal of "Mahaim" automatic tachycardia.

A series of four patients with right-sided accessory pathways with long conducting times and decremental properties is reported. All patients underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation, and target areas were guided by a discrete "Mahaim" potential recorded at the lateral aspect of the tricuspid valve. A slow automatic and irregular rhythm with a QRS morphology similar to that of a fully preexcited QRS complex occurred during radiofrequency current delivery. The occurrence of so-called "Mahaim" automatic tachycardia heralded successful elimination of the accessory pathway in a manner similar to that of junctional automatic rhythm during slow pathway ablation in patients with AV nodal reentrant tachycardia. The observation of an automatic rhythm brought about during radiofrequency current ablation of a Mahaim-like accessory pathway is electrophysiologic evidence of the accessory AV nodal behavior of this structure.